


Covert

by MissTeaVee



Series: Our Survival is our Strength [10]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, one OC is mine and the other is a Friend's, personal Mandalorian headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22274449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissTeaVee/pseuds/MissTeaVee
Summary: Cara learns something about Mandalorians she's not supposed to. Interesting.
Series: Our Survival is our Strength [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707184
Comments: 12
Kudos: 192





	Covert

“No I’m not! Leave me be!”

The voice was angry, sharp, and vaguely familiar to Cara Dune. She paused, glancing around curiously. She didn’t see any familiar forms, but there was what appeared to be a Twi’lek girl in a headscarf being harassed by one of the Guild’s bounty hunters. He had the Girl’s wrist in a tight grip and a lecherous sort of grin. Well, Cara _was_ Greef’s newest big bad Enforcer, wasn’t she?

She strode towards the confrontation, but the young woman she was coming to rescue snapped her free hand down harshly on her captor’s wrist and he let go with a pained yelp. The girl hurriedly rolled up her sleeve to hide her purple skin, stepping back into the crowd. The scarf over her head and Lekku slipped slightly and she pulled it up. Cara got to her side just in time to stop the Bounty hunter lunging.

“Hey Scumbag, you’re supposed to follow the code around here.”

“Ain’t bounty hunting Miss Dune, just looking for some fun,” said the Bounty hunter with an annoyed grunt. “Never seen that lovely little Twi around before, wanted t’get to know her.”

“I’m not a Call Girl nor a Twi’lek, Sleemo,” snapped the girl. “And if I was a call girl you’d still be a damned creep!”

“You heard the Girl,” Said Cara. “There’s the healing baths if you really wanna spend some time with a little lady. Now buzz off!”

The Bounty hunter wrenched himself out of Cara’s grip and stormed off as if the whole situation was beneath him. Cara shook her head and turned to look at the girl. She was wrapped heavily in coarse fabric, and it covered almost every inch of her. Only a sliver of purple skin showed around her eyes, and even her hands were covered in dainty gloves.

Her eyes were captivating; unguardedly emotive, but the feeling within them was burning irritation, tinged with a certain unease that seemed to have more to do with Cara herself than the Bounty Hunter. _Odd_. Cara crossed her arms, looking over the young woman and noting that her poise was that of a calm adult despite the youthfulness of those expressive eyes. Not a tremble wracked the hidden form despite the situation that would’ve frightened almost any grown woman. Cara tilted her head. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you for helping. He was very pushy,” said the young woman with a sigh, turning her head away. Now that her voice was level, Cara could swear she knew it from somewhere. The girl’s gloved hands ran up to check her headscarf, adjusting her lekku under the fabric to, Cara assumed, sit more comfortably. “I should finish my-”

“What’s going on!?” snarled another woman’s voice. Cara turned to find another figure up in her personal space, attired the same as the not-a-twi’lek and all fury and spitting rage. Angry human eyes glared up at her from behind the concealing headscarf.

“It’s alright, she was just making a bounty hunter back off without making a scene,” said the not-a-twi’lek soothingly. “Come on, let’s gather what we need and get out of here.”

The shorter woman looked at her friend, then back at Cara, shoulders tense. Cara wondered slightly about them; these women were clearly different species but culturally the same, and most cultures where the females concealed every aspect of themselves did not lend themselves well to spitfire women, after all, and she could see that this curvaceous gal before her was sizing her up for a fight. Cara spread her hands peacefully, ready to defend herself if she had to. But then the shorter woman’s head tilted slightly in a familiar manner, and recognition flared in violet eyes.

Suddenly the short woman seemed as awkward as the taller, slender one. “Oh. Uh… well, thanks for looking out for S- Uh… her... Yes. We’ll finish our shopping quickly and get out of the way.”

“Alright ladies, seeya around,” Said Cara, utterly curious. The two young women looped their elbows together and headed across the Bazaar. Cara watched for a long moment, wondering where she’d met them before. There’d been definite recognition of her, and unease in that recognition, and now too, she could see something familiar in the way they moved. Their steps seemed to flow, indicating balanced, powerful bodies beneath the concealing robes. Confused, Cara bought herself some food from one of the stalls and went to lean up on the side of a building to eat it, shrugging off the encounter.

She was about to head out when she spotted the two girls again-or… probably them. She hadn’t seen many people attired like that before this, anyway. The two were consulting a holopad, a small hovercart at their side, gesturing animatedly. She saw a third person in similar garb, though broader across the chest and thicker across the arms approach them. Both looked up and nodded greeting to whomever it was -A man, possibly? The fabric pulled tight across the chest on that one, but there was no shape to suggest breasts- and then returned to their holopad.

There was something about that nod of greeting. It itched at her mind, like a memory she couldn’t quite place. She adjusted her casual stance and continued to eye the odd trio. They gestured amongst themselves, one of the ladies shifted her weight…

Cara blinked, seeing the same gestures in her mind’s eye. Across a table aboard the Razorcrest, the hand making similar gestures was gloved, the arm attached heavily armored in shining silver. _No way!_ She looked more closely at the trio across the Bazaar. The man took a step back, and his body bounced slightly, as if he’d used more force than needed; his legs expecting to need to push against a familiar weight. One of the girls lifted an arm above her head to point something out, and Cara noticed for just an instant, a suspiciously blaster-shaped lump hidden at her hip under a fold her her flowing robe.

The hints were subtle, and she couldn’t quite believe what she was thinking, so she quashed it down, yet she continued to watch. The trio came to some agreement and the man walked off, his steps flowing confidently, though again with that odd bounce that came with one who was used to more weight than they were currently bearing, and when the girls walked, their bodies went through similar motions. There was a catlike grace to all of them, a confidence that belied skill, and Cara recalled that the Not-a-Twi’lek girl had seemed irritated by the Bounty hunter harassing her, compared to fearful as would have been expected. That lecherous, dangerous man had been nothing but an annoyance.

The two women and their hovercart paused at a corner that let only to a draped entryway and staircase down into the 'unused' storm sewers of Navarro, and Cara felt her suspicions click in to place as they vanished around the wall. She leaned back with a low hum as her odd encounter resolved itself into sensible order.

So she _had_ recognized that voice, and their wary recognition of her was understandable. They wouldn’t have wanted her to hit on the truthful conclusion she’d come to, but Cara Dune was no fool. Which was why she’d never admit to her discovery.

She adjusted her stance against the wall and thoughtfully chewed on this bit of Mandalorian culture she hadn’t been meant to see.

**Author's Note:**

> Made a couple minor edits. This is supposed to take place a couple days after "Defend your allies."


End file.
